Release Of Council Valuations Can’t Come Soon Enough

“The sooner Auckland Council releases the latest capital values, or CVs, for the region’s 560,000-plus properties, the sooner more Aucklanders can buy and sell,” says one real estate boss.

It has been one year since Auckland Council officially asked the Valuer General if it could delay its triennial revaluation of properties. It followed Covid-19’s impact last year on the council’s ability to source reliable market data.

Permission to delay by 12 months was granted, with Auckland Council set to issue CVs from October this year. It has been four years since Auckland’s properties received their last CVs, with many sales prices up over 35% since then.

“For different reasons, plenty of Aucklanders are hanging out for these new CVs. For buyers, CVs can help determine how much money they can borrow. For sellers, an up-to-date CV can help them achieve the best market price,” says Derryn Mayne, Owner of Century 21 New Zealand.

She says the most disadvantaged by the delay are those property owners who may have bought a newbuild or built a house since 2017 and have been trying to sell without a CV at all.

“It’s not the end of the world, because independent and market valuations can be easily sought. Nonetheless, when you’re a vendor hoping for top dollar in this current price boom, it’s harder to argue when there’s no baseline in the sand,” says Ms Mayne.

The Century 21 leader says her company’s franchises and agents are also hearing from frustrated property purchasers, particularly first-home buyers.

“Buyers sitting in the bank trying to borrow for a million-dollar property have to try and explain away its $650,000 CV. Everyone knows the CVs are 2017 and outdated, nonetheless their mere appearance can be frustrating,” she says.

Auckland Council says revaluations will be available via aucklandcouncil.govt.nz from October and sent to all rates properties after that date. Revised values will reflect a property’s estimated worth on 1 June 2021.

While the council says it uses these valuations as ‘a guide for setting your rates’, it also cautions that ‘a change in a property’s capital value does not automatically mean rates will increase or decrease because of that change’.

Ms Mayne says while 2021 valuations will help many, there’s nothing to panic about, particularly around rates. Aucklanders’ property CVs are likely to change a lot, but as in the past, their subsequent rates bill will likely be moderated.

“There’s no need to race off and buy or sell on the sole basis of what might happen to your rate’s bill. After the 2021 CVs land, how the burden of rates is spread is a debate and decision for Auckland Council next year.

“Given it’s also the local body elections next year, the 12-month delay in CVs could in the end prove very useful to ratepayers,” says Derryn Mayne.

www.century21.co.nz

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